


Absolution

by Breyito



Series: Press Events [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: And Steve Rogers broke it, Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Interviews, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Tony Stark Has A Heart, but Tony Stark has feelings so he does the right thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 15:04:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11488881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Breyito/pseuds/Breyito
Summary: It doesn't matter how bad their betrayals hurt.It doesn't matter how many injuries they caused him.It doesn't matter how hollow he feels, and how much rage he has.It doesn't matter.Tony Stark will do what's right, even when it burns him up inside.





	Absolution

**Author's Note:**

> So, this should be part of the 'Press Statements' fic, but because it's too long (it has another chapter); I decided to unite the two works in a series and post 'Absolution' as a separate fic.  
> This is what I hinted at, with the Bucky&Tony relationship. This is the very beggining of things. Because I fully believe that Tony doesn't blame Bucky, not after he had time to _think and process_ (cufcuf*looking at you, Rogers*cufcuf).  
>  As always, no beta; so any mistakes, let me know.  
> Hope you enjoy it!

_{---{---Twelve months and two weeks after the Superhero Civil War---}---}_

Tony should have known that traveling to California for a few weeks and staying on his brand-new Malibu house to avoid the press wouldn’t really work. But he had had _hopes_.

“M-Mr. Stark!”

“ _It’s Dr. Stark, stupid_.” he hears the broadcaster hiss to the cameraman, as she whacks the kid on the back of the head. Tony can’t help but feel sorry for the kid; he must be eighteen or so, barely out of high school. Wild red hair and freckles and big brown eyes. The boy reminds him of Pepper and Harley and Peter and…he just _has_ to help him. Damn those ‘mothering instincts’ of his (don’t you dare laugh, Rhodes, like you are any better with Eli and Dante and Kam, but especially Eli). So he sighs and turns around, walking towards the boy, who is looking paler and paler as he walks closer, while the woman is still lecturing him.

“Yes, kid?” he asks the boy, standing in front of the camera. The woman turns around, quickly fixing her hair and putting on a ‘seductive’ smile.

“Oh, thank you so much for receiving us, Dr-”

“Cut the crap, lady. You are outside my property; I did not ‘received’ you. And I was talking to the kid here, not you.” The mentioned boy snorts, even if he tries to cover it. The blonde turns around; ready to hit him again, but Tony grabs her wrist before she gets the chance.

“Wha-? Let me go!” she hisses, looking around frantically, at the few reporters that are recording this.

“I wouldn’t hit a child (or a coworker) in front of so many cameras, lady. Just because he’s a boy doesn’t mean you get to do that, gender violence is not only against women, you know.” He says, loud and clear; letting go of her wrist.

“Dr. Stark, I _assure_ you, this is a misunderstanding, I-”she doesn’t get to finish.

“Kid, she does this to you all the time, am I right?” The poor boy is still pale and he is sweating, brown liquid eyes wide. He is shaking strongly at her warning glare, but finally nods. “And she told you to never complain to anyone because everyone does it to the new intern, I guess?” he nods again. “How old are you, kid? And what’s your name?”

“I’m s-seventeen, sir. And my name is Colin Creevy.” He answers as he stands a bit straighter at the woman’s death glare.

 “Okay, Colin, you just got an exclusive with Tony Stark.” The best part of being an eccentric rich boy is the expressions you get to see on people’s faces; no one can change Tony’s mind about it. For example, the face of the blond woman is hilarious, and if he thought the kid’s eyes couldn’t get any bigger, but he was obviously wrong. And the other reporters! Their jaws lay somewhere in the floor, he is sure. With any luck, the cameras captured everything and that awful woman will be fired.

\---{}---

“Come on in, kid.” Tony says, as the doors open automatically.

“ _Welcome home, boss._ ” Says FRIDAY, and Colin jumps about a foot in the air. Tony so enjoys when people get introduced this way to his AIs. And he can tell FRIDAY enjoys it too, the naughty girl.

“Who is that!?” the kid yells, looking around, trying to find the voice that seems to come out of everywhere.

“That, is FRIDAY, one of my AIs. Think of her as a…intangible butler.” She scoffs. “Sorry, _housekeeper_.” Tony corrects. “Is that better, baby girl?”

“ _Yes, thank you, boss._ ” She answers, smugness leaking through the speakers.

“Anyway, we are not here for her, are we?” he asks rhetorically, guiding Colin towards the living room, making a stop in the kitchen to grab two sodas. They sit in comfortable couches, one in front of the other, separated by a coffee table. “So, shoot me.” He pauses. “No, better not, I’ve repaired enough bullet holes in my life. Please don’t take that as an invitation.” The kid looks horrified and Tony huffs out a laugh. “Really, kid, loosen up a bit. You just got saved by Tony Stark, your boss is probably going to try and fire you but that scene outside will be news and will save your ass; and you just got an exclusive with me to talk about _the_ topic.” Colin finally relaxes slightly in the couch, and drinks a bit of his soda.

“I’ll have to record this.” The kid says, pointing at his bag with the camera and other things, sitting in yet another couch.

“Go ahead.”

The kid does as he said; setting the tripod, moving the camera as to get the best angle (the living room, of course, but also the ocean outside), and making sure the microphone is working correctly. He also moves the pictures a little (which he asked permission for beforehand and Friday say yes); and he takes note of them and smiles a little. There are a _lot_ of photographs. He thought that such a modern man would be all about having everything digital, but it seems that Tony Stark is as nostalgic as everyone else.

 There are ones of Mr. Stark and Col. Rhodes alone and others with Miss Potts or a few machines/robots (?). He spots one picture of a trio of women (none of them Maria Stark) cooing over a baby, with a man wearing a crutch behind them, rolling his eyes. Colin sees an elderly couple with a child. There is one of an aging group of people with a teen Mr. Stark (he recognizes Peggy Carter there). Some of Howard and Maria Stark with his son at different ages. There is a very recent one, with Spider-Man, Vision, War Machine and Iron Man. He notices there are no- photos of the former Avengers. The portrait of Mr. Stark’s mother is probably the biggest one though, and the closest to the couch.

When he finishes there, he spends a minute in front of the mirror, trying to comb his hair with his fingers and fixing his clothes; trying to look more professional. Finally, he sighs and gives up. Colin turns around to address the engineer and finds him tipping on his…phone? It looks like a square of glass, but with words and images on its surface and… _3-D projections?_ Its way beyond anything on the market, even the latest StarkPhones models. But that’s not why he is here right now, so he shakes his head and sits down, not sure if he should call the genius attention or if he should wait until the other man notices him. Fortunately for him, FRIDAY solves that problem.

“ _Boss, Mr. Creevy is ready for your interview._ ” The brunet hums but doesn’t say anything else and continues working; when suddenly all the glowing words and images disappear.

“FRIDAY! What the hell?” Exclaims the engineer, glaring at the roof.

“ _I saved all your progress, boss, don’t worry. But it’s time for your interview with Mr. Creevy._ ” She repeats, and Colin can notice the fondness on her voice (he might have found this strange any other day, but today has been full of surprises, so he doesn’t).

“Who?” Tony asks, looking around. When he sees the kid on his couch his frown eases, and he blinks. “Oh, you. You finished arranging things sooner than I expected.” Colin blushes a bit at that, but clears his throat and dives right into the questions. He is not going to waste this chance.

“So, Dr. Stark, I’m guessing you already know the topic I want to talk to you about.” He starts, looking at Tony in the eyes. The engineer is surprised to see such confidence suddenly, but he is pleased too.

 “Well, there’s only one thing that warrants such effort to find me on the media’s part.” The brunet answers. When Colin sees that the older man won’t say anything else without prompting, he carries on.

“Indeed. The news of the Winter Soldier’s pardon is a matter of great importance in the whole world.” The redhead says, but doesn’t get much further before Tony interrupts him.

“I’m going to correct you, and everyone else on this once and for all: the Winter Soldier was a HYDRA _weapon_ (in the form of a conditioning forced into James Barnes’ mind through several kinds of torture), not the man. The crimes committed by the Winter Soldier are not Sargent’s Barnes’s fault, but HYDRA’s. James Barnes was a victim; still is, in fact. He was tortured and brainwashed, denied any rights as a human being, forced to kill and torture for _decades_. It might be pretentious of me, but I believe that James Buchanan Barnes is HYDRA’s biggest victim in all of its history.”

The young man takes a few moments to process the information, and then asks:

“Don’t you think it’s unfair for the families of the victims of the Winter Soldier’s crimes? To see the murderer of their loved ones get a pardon while they still mourn their losses?” Tony pauses for a second to think the answer; then he looks right at the camera and responds.

“As a man who lost his parents to HYDRA… I can’t say it’s _fair_ , because hardly anything is fair in this life, but…The man that was broken and unmade by HYDRA to act as their weapon is not responsible for the crimes committed by the Winter Soldier. James Barnes suffered so much pain already that I think I could say he paid for the crimes that HYDRA forced him to perpetrate beforehand, during and after. Sargent Barnes didn’t want, plan or authorized the killings. He never _desired_ the deaths of the people HYDRA targeted; he tried to resist over and over again, and was punished accordingly, too. And yet, he lives with the memories of each face, each scream, each name in the Winter Soldier’s list. He didn’t choose any of that. And I…I’d like for those families to blame _HYDRA_ , the organization, no James Barnes.”

“I blamed him too, for many months.” He continues, looking chagrined “When I fought him, injured him, I had just witnessed my parents’ horrific deaths at his hands and leashed out in grief (in anger, hurt and betrayal too, for the lie of Rogers). I had a reason to act how I did in Siberia, I firmly believe that. But my mother taught me better than to keep the truth to myself; and after the proof I found that Barnes is innocent I _had_ to do everything I could for him. Because at the end of the day; Bucky Barnes WWII hero; and he is just another victim.”  

Colin is left speechless for a minute, seeing before him not only Iron Man or Tony Stark, but a man that lost his family and still mourns them. And yet, someone that tried (and succeeded) to save the man he _saw_ killing his parents, because he is rational enough to admit that said man had no choice on the matter. He doesn’t blame Barnes, and instead of hiding his opinion like many people do when they see things that are wrong; he admits it. He did something that changes the whole world’s opinion of the Winter Soldier.

Colin was never truly a ‘FAN’ of Iron Man (his hero is War Machine, because Col. Rhodes once saved his brother); but he thinks he gets what people see in Tony Stark now.

**Author's Note:**

> So, did you like it? Tell me!  
> Leave a kudos, a comment or an idea.  
> Team Idiot is not mentioned because they are not the main focus here. Bucky and Tony are.  
> BTW, who can guess who the three ladies in the photo are? ;P
> 
> ALSO. Could someone give mee names of politicians/powerful people of the XX century that could have been working with HYDRA? I mean, I don't want to offend anyone's country or something, so help? Oh! People for WS targets would be grest too (Lady Di, for example? Idk)
> 
> You can find me in Tumblr at: breyito.tumblr.com
> 
> Kisses!


End file.
